Questions & Answers about Proszę szeptać, bo dzieci już śpią.
What exactly does proszę mean here?
Here proszę means please.
Literally, proszę comes from the verb prosić, meaning to ask or to request, so proszę szeptać is literally something like I ask you to whisper. In normal English, though, the natural translation is just Please whisper.
A useful thing to know is that proszę has several common meanings in Polish, depending on context, for example:
- please
- here you are
- go ahead
- I would like
In this sentence, it is simply a polite request.
Why is szeptać in the infinitive?
Because Polish often uses proszę + infinitive to make a polite request.
So:
- proszę szeptać = please whisper
This structure is very common in polite speech, instructions, announcements, and signs. It sounds softer and less direct than a plain imperative.
It is similar to saying:
- Please be quiet
- Please wait
- Please sit down
rather than giving a blunt command.
Does proszę szeptać mean you are speaking to one person or to several people?